Danger
by SheFallsAsleep
Summary: Charlotte moves to London and runs into her old boyfriend...Tom Fletcher.
1. Chapter 1

I swung my shopping basket in my arms as I walked down the aisle at Tesco. My cousin, Grace, was somewhere a few aisles over. I was staying with her in London while I went to University, having moved to England from Minnesota. I had visited London a few times as a senior in high school and had fallen in love.

Looking around for my favorite brand of cereal, I continued walking. But when a guy with blonde hair and a dimple on his left cheek walked into the aisle, I froze. Tom Fletcher; the first and last person I ever wanted to see. I swore under my breath.

Tom stopped in his tracks as he noticed me, his shoes making a squeaking noise against the floor. Half of me wanted to run straight into his familiar arms and the other half of me wanted to run the hell out of the building. But I stayed where I was. Neither of us was very willing to move, but he reluctantly took the steps needed to close the distance between us. I held my breath as the store suddenly felt too hot for my liking.

"Hi, Charlotte," he finally said. I don't think I had ever felt this uncomfortable; this was definitely the last thing I wanted to be doing. It had been two years since Tom and I had last spoken.

"Hi," I managed to say. I felt my cheeks turning pink as I spoke. I probably looked like an idiot right now.

"Hey," he repeated softly.

"What are you doing here?" I mentally slapped myself at that question. What else would he be doing at Tesco? Elephant hunting? God, I'm an idiot.

"I –I live around here. What are _you _doing here?"

"Did you move?" His previous home was a good thirty minute drive from here.

He seemed uncomfortable at my question. "Sort of…I still own the house you're thinking of. I've just been living here…recently. But you never answered my question."

"I, uh, live in London now," Tom's eyebrows rose, surprised. "I'm studying film here."

A small smile formed on his face. "You used to talk about wanting to be a director."

_Yeah, two years ago_, I thought. I'm not sure why I felt bitter seeing him. It wasn't _Tom _who ruined our relationship. I didn't reply; I just nodded my head, unsure of what to do. Tom scratched the back of his neck, glancing around the store so he wouldn't have to look at me. A weird look crossed his face as he glanced in my shopping basket.

"Are those for you?" he said, pointing at the package of diapers resting in the basket.

_What? _"Yeah…I wear baby diapers."

His face flushed as he picked up on my sarcasm. "I meant, do you have a kid?"

"Oh! No, they're for my cousin's baby."

Tom seemed almost relieved at that news. Did he really think I was the type to have a baby when I was 20? It wasn't like I even had someone to _make _a kid with. Although I had been on a few dates, I hadn't had a boyfriend since, well, Tom.

"Oh, okay, uh good. Do you think you'd possibly want to come to our show tonight? I know the guys will want to see you." It all came out in a rush.

"If by guys you mean Harry and Dougie," I remarked. Tom shrugged but didn't say anything. Danny hated me when I was with Tom. I never blamed him; I was young and there was quite a few years of an age gap between us. Either way, I wasn't really up to seeing any of them. At this moment all I wanted to do was go home and watch crap television in my sweats with a pint of ice cream. "I don't really think that's a good idea, Tom." Although Grace would kill to go to the concert…

Speaking of Grace, she had turned into this aisle was slowly walking towards us. I cringed at what was to come. She was a big McFly fan. Like, with posters hanging up on her walls and everything.

"Hey, Char!" She greeted me. I was too scared to look as she recognized the guitarist next to me. Her green eyes had grown round and were practically bulging out of her head when I reluctantly glanced over at her. "You're Tom Fletcher," she finally stated.

"Hi," he gave her a smile and a small wave. The two of them looked at my expectantly.

"Oh, this is my cousin Grace," I introduced her to Tom. I realized that I must have mentioned her to him a couple of years ago, because he seemed to vaguely recognize the name. Grace bit down on her lip as he gave her another smile. Hard.

"Hello!" She was clearly confused.

"Grace, I was just inviting Charlotte to our concert tonight. Do you want to come? I can throw in some backstage passes, if you want." He made an attempt at looking innocent, but I knew him better than that. Despite the fact that we were both well aware that it was a bad idea for me to go tonight, Tom knew that I wouldn't be able to say no to Grace. I glared at him.

"Yes, I would love to!" her eyes somehow managed to grow wider, and I resisted the urge to laugh. "Charlotte, will you please come with me? I know you don't really know McFly"–I bit the inside of my cheek–"But it will be super fun!"

Grace was so excited that she was practically bouncing in her boots. And with the grin plastered on her face, there was no way I could let her down. I gave a final glare at Tom, who appeared rather pleased with himself, and agreed to come along.

"Awesome!" Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPhone. "Just give me your numbers, and I can contact you with the details."

He looked at me, waiting for me to give him my number. There was a reason why I had changed it in the first place. When I didn't answer, he turned to Grace, who was more than happy to tell him her phone number. Tom flashed a brief smile at me.

"I guess I'll see you ladies later then. Bye Charlotte…Grace," he said locking his eyes with mine. It wasn't until he walked when I was able to move again.

**A/N: So it seems I have started another fic! Originally I was going to use a different member, but I think I'm too in love with Tom to write about anyone other than him :) Let me know what you think so far!**


	2. Chapter 2

Grace wrapped her arms around me as soon as Tom was out of sight.

"Oh my God! I just met Tom Fletcher. Tom Fletcher just invited us to see their concert. Tom Fletcher is giving us backstage passes. I'm going to see McFly!" she exclaimed rather loudly in my ear.

"Uh, yeah…"

"Okay! We have to get home, and then find something amazing to wear. And I can call the babysitter for Henry…we have so much to do. God, how did you manage to run into a celebrity? It doesn't matter; let's go check out and get home!"

An hour later, I was sitting on Grace's bed as she modeled her fourth outfit for me. She was wearing a flowy red dress that fell half way across her thighs, a denim jacket, and tan ankle boots.

"How about this outfit?" she asked me, smoothing down the bottom of her dress.

"You look really cute! You should definitely wear that."

"Thanks! Now, let's find something for you to wear." Grace took my hand and pulled me into my bedroom. Soon, my bed was covered with clothes as she attacked my closet. I didn't want to admit it, but I was incredibly nervous. Seeing the guys again? And being that close to Tom… Grace interrupted my thoughts as she shoved a pale blue dress into my arms. It was casual, but still nice-looking.

"Hmm. What should you do for shoes? Heels?" she mused.

I shook my head. I wasn't a fan of heels. "Can't I just wear my Converse?"

Grace frowned. "I guess…"

I was about to defend my choice in shoes when her phone began to vibrate against my wooden dresser. Grace jumped animatedly off of the bed and grabbed the ringing phone.

"I don't know this number. What if it's Tom? Oh my gosh!" she squealed.

"Just answer it Gracie!"

She did, and sure enough, it was Tom. I felt weird watching Grace talk on the phone with my ex, and maybe it was jealously, but it probably had something to do with the last time I was on the phone with him. It was the conversation that ruined everything we had with each other.

"_Maybe…we should end this," I had told Tom over the phone, which was our primary mode of communication due to the fact that we lived a few thousand miles away from each other._

"_What_?_" Tom cried out. _

"_Tom, being in this relationship is pretty fucking painful, and I know it's the same for you. We see each other every, what, few months? And we have to keep it a secret? There is no way that's healthy." I wasn't really sure where this was all coming from. We had been together for nearly a year, but, recently, things had been going rougher than usual._

"_I know, but…Charlotte we've talked about this. I don't think we can end what we have. I seriously love you."_

_I was close to crying at this point, but I knew what the right thing to do was. "I love you too, Tom. But this can't work. It never will, and you know that. There are so many things against us."_

_It's not like I _wanted _to breakup with him. I had never loved somebody more in my life, and that was the problem. Our whole relationship was fucked up. No one but us and the rest of the McFly boys even knew about what was going on between us. I was still in high school for God's sake. Granted, I was a legal adult and had been for the ninth months we had been together, but I was still young. And Tom, on the other hand, was 24. _

"_Fine, Char. If that's really what you want," he said monotonously. I groaned in the receiver. _

"_It's not what I want, but it needs to happen."_

_Tom stayed silent for a moment. "Yeah, I get it." Another pause. "…I guess this is goodbye Char…love you."_

_I wiped away a tear that was trickling down my cheek. "Love you too."_

_The call ended with an abrupt click. The silence following was painful._

Several minutes later, Grace and I were in the bathroom doing our hair for the concert. My cousin was still freaking out over the fact that she had talked to "the gorgeous Tom Fletcher" on the phone, and I was still very hesitant to go to this concert. About 50 different excuses popped into my head for reasons that I could stay at home, but I knew Grace would not go alone and would be heartbroken if she missed this opportunity.

She helped me curl my hair so that it fell into loose blonde waves over my shoulders, rather than the normal stick-straight do. Grace had done some intricate half-braid thing to her hair that I could never dream of attempting; she was really talented when it came to that stuff.

We finally arrived at the venue where the show was being held. Under Tom's instructions, Grace and I went around to a door in the back, where we gave the security guard our names. My stomach erupted into a nervous fit of butterflies as we were led down a narrow hallway.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," I muttered to Grace, giving her arm a tight squeeze.

"Are you crazy? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! We got _invited _to a McFly concert by Tom _freaking _Fletcher!" she exclaimed.

I was about ready to turn around and bolt when Dougie crossed paths with us.

"Hey!" he called out to me. Tom must have told him we were coming because he didn't look too surprised to see me.

"Hi…Dougie, right?" I asked innocently. Dougie looked a little confused, but pulled me into his arms as if we hadn't seen each other in decades. Well, to be fair, it had been a while, and Dougie and I had been pretty close before

"Pretend you don't know me," I whispered in his ear. He responded with a small nod that Grace wouldn't even notice. He then proceeded to give Grace a small hug, which resulted in a strong blush on her part.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Grace," my cousin said next to me.

"Charlotte," I told him, trying to contain a smile. It felt nice seeing him again.

"Nice meeting you two," he gave me a small wink. "Do you ladies want to meet the rest of the band quickly before the concert starts?"

"Sure," Grace attempted to be nonchalant.

We followed Dougie to the room where the boys were getting ready. I stayed in the hallway a second behind Dougie and Grace, taking a deep breath, before entering. The conversation Danny and Harry were having stopped when they noticed us. The silence was deafening, until Tom's chair screeched against the ground as he moved to stand up.

"Um, h-hey."

"Hi," I replied quietly, suddenly finding the zipper on the side of my dress fascinating.

Tom cleared his throat. "This is Grace," he motioned to my cousin. "and Charlotte."

Harry raised his eyebrows, but went along with Tom. "Nice to meet you!"

Danny gave Grace a wave but remained silent. I could practically feel him scrutinizing me across the room. Lovely. At this moment, Grace asked if she could get a picture with the guys.

"I'll take it!" I offered, grabbing her phone from her hands.

"Don't you want to be in it?"

"No thanks, I'm good."

"You sure?" she was taken back, as if no one in their right mind would decline a picture with the band.

"Positive. Now, everyone get together so I can take this."

After the picture was taken, Danny loudly notified us that they guys needed time to prepare for the concert.

"Right, Tom?" he urged, nudging the blonde guitarist not-so-discreetly with his elbow.

"Er, yeah. We'll have security take you to your seats, and then you guys can come back after the show, if you'd like?"

Danny turned to glare at Tom. I didn't exactly blame him either. I had already seen enough of Tom for one day, and it was getting pretty difficult to be around him and act like there was never anything between us. Unfortunately, Grace had _not_ seen enough of the boys and immediately accepted his offer.

The concert went the same as they usually went. They played a few of my favorites from their earlier albums and a few of their newer songs that I had only heard on occasion. I had tried to distance myself from the band after Tom and I ended things, but I would sometimes wind up on YouTube listening to a few of their tracks. I really did like their music.

"Good performance!" I told the guys after we met up again. We were standing in lopsided circle with Grace on my left and Danny, unfortunately, to my right.

"_Shit_," he suddenly muttered under his breath.

I followed his eyes to a tall, unnervingly pretty girl with hair a slightly blonder shade than mine. She was making her way over to us. Her arms wrapped around Tom as she gave him a peck on the cheek from behind.

"Hey, babe," she giggled into his ear. Oh god, I was going to be sick.

"Hey!" he smiled back at her, before his eyes met mine. He wasn't the only one. Dougie, Harry, and Danny had all turned to me with varying nervous expressions to judge my reaction. I was desperate to get away from this nauseating scene.

"Who are they?" she nodded towards Grace and me.

"Charlotte and Grace," he pointed to each of us respectively. "This is my girlfriend Nicole."

The blonde girl, _Nicole_, giggled again. That was my cue to leave.

"Is there a bathroom around here?"

"Yep," Dougie answered quickly. "Down this hallway, take a left, and it'll be on your right."

"Great, thanks."

I nearly bolted to the bathroom, locking the door behind me. It probably wasn't fair of me to be jealous. He had every right to move on, which he clearly had. There was just something about that Nicole girl that I didn't like. At all.

There was a hesitant knock at the door. "Charlotte, can I talk to you?"

It was Tom. I opened the door, and he stepped inside.

"Sorry for not telling you about Nicole. I wasn't really thinking. I mean, just seeing you after so long got me overexcited, I guess. And I really missed you and–" he rambled.

"A little heads up would have been nice."

I was suddenly aware of the fact that Tom and I were alone with less than two feet of space between us. This was dangerous.

"Sorry," he apologized again, and, somehow, the distance between us got smaller. He was so close in front of me that I could smell the mixture of sweat and freshly-applied deodorant radiating off his skin. And the distance got even smaller. Our lips met in a desperate, needy crash. I let out a small gasp as he lifted me onto the counter, and I didn't think twice before wrapping my legs around his waist. As we pulled apart for air, I came to my senses.

"Fuck," I swore. "This was a mistake."

He ran his hand through his hair, taking a step back. I used this as an opportunity to hastily hop off of the counter and leave the bathroom before he could say a word. What the _hell _had we just done?


	3. Chapter 3

We had just kissed. Tom had a girlfriend and _we had just kissed. _The initial shock began to wear off as I hurried to find Grace so we could leave. She was reluctant, but after a minute she agreed to go. We said our quick goodbyes, and I tried my best to avoid looking at Nicole. Dougie gave me a sympathetic glance as I practically dragged Grace away by the hand.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"What was what about?" I replied innocently. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but didn't say anything else.

Life continued normally for a week or so. I went to class and worked a few days a week at a small clothing store near my school. One day, after my Media Analysis class, a guy with dark wavy hair and a button-up shirt rolled to the sleeves approached me. I recognized him from a few of my classes, but we had only ever said a few words to each other.

"Hey," he said a little shyly. "You're name's Charlotte, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I'm Adam."

"Nice to meet you," I said with a smile. He responded with a similar one.

"Listen, a few of us were planning on going to Envy tonight! I was wondering if you wanted to come with."

Envy was a fairly large club near campus. I hesitated before replying. Grace had made me promise her that I would stop going to clubs after a particularly bad incident. Drunk, I had brought a guy that I met at a club back to our flat. When we woke up the next morning, the television was gone. Grace didn't exactly trust my drunken judgment after that.

But it had been a while since I'd had some fun, and figuring I deserved it, I accepted Adam's offer.

"Great! I'll meet you there at 10?" he asked to confirm the time.

"Definitely."

We parted after exchanging phone numbers, and I was eager to go and get ready before Grace got home from work. I slipped on a black body-con skirt and a low-cut shirt I had bought at Forever21. Not exactly my classiest outfit. My eyes were dramatic—smoky and rimmed in dark liner, framed by thick, black lashes. I normally wore only a minimal amount of makeup, but tonight was one of those special occasions.

When I arrived at Envy, Adam directed me to a table where five others sat. There were two guys named Ed and Chris and two girls named Chloe and Alice. I liked Alice immediately; she was one of those charismatic types of people with long black hair and bright green eyes. After the first round of drinks was sent out, she asked me how I liked London, and we got to talking about all the different things to do in the city.

Chloe interrupted us with a squeal—one hand clapped over her mouth, the other pointing to someone out on the dance floor.

"Is that Dougie Poynter?" she gasped. "I used to have the biggest crush on him when I was younger!"

I turned around in horror, spotting him dancing with a pretty dark-haired girl. Behind him was Tom. And Nicole. Dancing rather suggestively. I felt the familiar urge to puke that I felt whenever I thought of Tom's girlfriend.

"I'm going to go get a drink," I choked out, making my way towards the bar. Taking a seat on the worn leather barstool, I ordered a scotch. A second one was needed very shortly after as I had already gulped down my first drink.

Why the hell was was Tom here? Shouldn't he be producing an album or something? Suddenly, I was on my third drink and everything was starting to get fuzzy. But I was feeling slightly better and when the guy next to me offered to buy me another drink, I didn't hesitate to accept it.

"Charlotte?" someone said behind me. It took me a moment to realize it was Adam. "We were wondering where you went!" he chuckled.

"Let's dance!" I exclaimed, grabbing his hand and leading him to the dance floor.

We danced heavily, our bodies pressed together, and I allowed myself to forget about Tom temporarily. Until he was standing right in front of me. Tom seemed shocked at seeing me, and his eyes narrowed at the guy currently rubbing against me. But he didn't say anything to me. Instead, he pushed away through the crowd, probably to find Nicole. I needed more alcohol.

"I'll be back!" I shouted to Adam over the music before finding my way back to the bar.

I wasn't sure how much I had to drink after that. Everything became a blur. Somehow I ended up dancing with the guy who had bought me a drink earlier. I let his hands roam my body as we danced, if you could even call it dancing. The next thing I knew, we were in the men's bathroom. I sat on the counter, giggling as his lips explored my neck. I tried to ask him his name, but the words never came out. I was about to lift my shirt off when the door opened.

"Charlotte, what the fuck?" Tom gaped.

"Tom!" I exclaimed, happy to see him. "Hi, Tom!"

"You know him?" asked the guy I was with. I realized I was still fiddling with his belt buckle. Whoops.

I nodded excitedly as Tom pulled me off of the counter.

"Hey, I was just 'bout to baaaang him!" I pouted. "Isn't he hot?"

"He's like 10 years older than you," Tom scolded. He turned to the man. "You should probably go."

He glared at Tom, but walked out of the bathroom.

"How much have you had to drink?" Tom demanded.

"I haven't had anythin'! Just water, I promise. Jus' water!" I slurred.

Tom clearly didn't believe me. "I'm taking you home before you do something stupid."

My eyes grew wide. "NO! Gracie's gonna kill me. Tom, don't take me home!" I pleaded. I was about to get on my knees, but Tom kept me up.

He said something to me, but I didn't hear him. I felt sick as the alcohol started to slosh around in my stomach. When I looked around next, we were in his car.

"Don' take me home," I repeated.

"Charlotte, I already said I'm taking you back to my house. Relax."

"Oh. Just don't let me go home, please."

Tom rolled his eyes at me. I felt tired and closed my eyes for a second. The last thing I remember of that night is Tom carrying me inside.

**A/N: I haven't gotten a lot of feedback on this story yet, so let me know if you're liking it or not? (: Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up in the morning with a pounding headache and very little memory of the night before. As I began to look around, I realized I wasn't in my own house. I was in Tom's room…in Tom's bed. _Had I slept with him?_ I quickly shook that idea away; I definitely would have remembered _that._

Groggily, I climbed out of bed. I was still wearing my clothes from last night, so I dug in Tom's closet for a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, knowing he wouldn't mind. I froze for a second as I found his old _Back to the Future _shirt that I had borrowed the last time I was over at his house, over two years ago. I hesitated slightly before putting it on, wondering if he would remember how much I liked this particular shirt of his. Speaking of Tom…

I set out to find him, which proved rather easy as all I had to do was follow the smell of pancakes to the kitchen.

"Good morning," he said when he saw me walk in. His eyes lingered on the clothes I had borrowed, but he said nothing.

"Uh, good morning."

"I'm guessing you don't remember much of last night. You look a bit confused."

I nodded. "Yeah, why exactly am I at your house? And why are we at this house? I thought you said you lived near me."

"I do, but I live there with Nicole…and I didn't really want to bring you there. You got completely pissed last night and wouldn't let me take you home to Grace," Tom chuckled slightly.

My cheeks flushed. "Does Nicole know I'm here?" I tried not to sound bitter as I said her name.

Tom looked uncomfortable at my question. "Not exactly, no. She had to drive out to Manchester last night for a modeling thing over the weekend."

I gave a slight nod of my head. Tom jumped suddenly, realizing he still had pancakes cooking. As he worked on that, I went to the cupboard to grab a mug for coffee. It felt nice being back here; his house had always felt like home to me, although I had only stayed here a couple of times. I sat down at the table as Tom set a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of me—my favorite.

"It'll help with the hangover," he said with a smirk.

I groaned at how stupid I had acted last night. "Thanks."

After shoveling down my pancakes, I figured it was time to go home. I was glad I had remembered to text Grace last night to tell her I might stay over at a friend's from Uni, she probably would have sent the police force out to find me if I had suddenly disappeared. I looked around the table to see if I could find my purse, which contained my phone. No luck.

"Tom? Have you seen my phone anywhere?" I asked.

He frowned for a second. "Try the upstairs bathroom."

When had I been in there? "The upstairs bathroom?"

He chuckled again. "You sort of puked…a lot when you got here."

I buried my face in my hands. _Great. _

"Don't worry. I tied your hair up." Tom said with a wink.

"Ugh. I'm gonna go call a cab," I told him as I started walking towards the stairs.

"I can drive you home."

That meant even more alone time with Tom, and being the stupid, masochistic person I am, I agreed. We stepped inside his Mini Cooper, and I gave him the directions to my place. Besides the radio that I was nervously fiddling with, it was silent inside of his car. But it still felt nice to be with him after so long. Honestly, all I wanted to do was recreate that kiss we shared at his concert. I mentally slapped myself at that thought. I needed to keep reminding myself that Tom was in a relationship. But then why did he kiss me?

I found myself staring at him while he drove. His brow was furrowed, a look that occurred when he was deep in thought. Tom glanced over at me, catching me staring at him. Blushing, I looked down into my lap and fiddled with the tie on his sweatpants.

"What were you looking at?" he asked in a slightly mischievous manner.

"Nothing."

"So, you weren't staring at me then?" Tom was grinning, and I couldn't help but smile back as he teased me.

"Nope ," I said, popping the "p".

"Riiight…"

I laughed. Since we were finally talking, I figured I might as well take this opportunity to thank him.

"Tom?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for…everything that you did. I got a bit carried away last night, and if you hadn't stepped in, I definitely would have done something stupid. Well, something more stupid than what I was already doing."

"Don't mention it," he said with a small smile, before his expression darkened. "That guy you were about to shag was seriously creepy though."

I tried to recall what he looked like. "I don't really remember him. I'm glad you stopped me."

"Same."

We stayed silent after this—both emerged in our own thoughts—until he parked outside of house. Neither of us made a movement for another minute. I was reluctant to leave; I wasn't sure when I'd be able to see Tom again after this. He was apparently thinking about the same thing.

"Do you want to get coffee sometime?" Tom said suddenly.

Did I want to go? Yes. But the question was whether or not I should. And I knew that it would be a bad idea. Going out for coffee meant catching up on the last couple of years and realizing just how much I've missed Tom.

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea…how about you give me your number, and I'll call you if I'm free."

He frowned slightly, but nodded. I pulled out my phone and entered his number before putting the device back into the pocket of Tom's sweatpants. I reached for the door handle, but pulled back at the last second.

"Thanks again, Tom," I gave him a light kiss on his cheek, blushing slightly.

"Anytime, Charlotte."

Was it weird for me to be sleeping in those clothes I had taken from Tom? Because that's what I had been doing for the past week. I probably needed to return them at some point, but they were too comfortable for me to give up. Grace had yet to notice that I was wearing men's clothing to bed, thank God. I don't know how I would explain that one to her.

I had just gotten out of bed and was getting ready to go shopping for a birthday present for Grace. I straightened my hair, throwing on a pair of skinnies and a raglan shirt, before heading out of the house. I decided to stop at Starbucks along the way. The shop was filled with the familiar aroma of coffee and muffins that I loved so much.

I ordered a Frappuccino from the cute barista and was about to leave when I heard someone yell out my name. My eyes grew wide as I saw who was behind me.

**A/N: Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Also, sorry for the delay! Love you all (:**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Wow, I am so so sorry that it has taken so long! There's just so much stuff that's been happening in my life, and my motivation to write up until now was at zero. That said, this chapter contains Unsaid Things spoilers, but I'm assuming all the fans know the major stuff by now, so that shouldn't be a problem. Also, I've modified a bit of the book too to fit in with the story. Thanks for reading everyone! 3

"Charlotte!" someone said behind me.

I turned around to see Adam, who had just walked into the coffee shop. He wore navy chinos and a tan sweater, his dark hair falling slightly across his eyes. Grinning, he made his way over to wear I stood.

The day I had gotten back from Tom's house, I had called Adam to apologize for randomly leaving Envy. I explained that I had had too much to drink, and a friend of mine decided it was a good idea to bring me home. I skipped the part where this friend happened to be my ex-boyfriend, who had found me about to hook up with some random guy in the men's bathroom.

I really liked Adam as a person; he was super funny and easy to get along with.

He hugged me when he was close enough and gave me a wink. "Fancy seeing you here, Miss Charlotte. Are you going to class?"

"Nope. I'm going to go get my cousin a present for her birthday! What about you?"

"Nah, I was just in the mood for some coffee."

Adam pulled my arm and dragged me into line with him.

"That wasn't necessary," I laughed. "I can walk on my own."

"WHAT?" He yelled a little too loudly. "I didn't know that! It's a miracle!"

I shook my head, laughing. "_Ridiculous_," I muttered.

Adam just smiled at me. I waited in line with him while he ordered his coffee and a chocolate chip muffin. The cute guy behind the counter gave him a shy smile as he handed Adam his bag and his cup. We walked out to the sidewalk, and Adam dug greedily into his bag for his muffin.

"Mmmffghh," he mumbled, shoving the muffin into his mouth.

"Hey, if you're not doing anything, want to come shopping with me?" I asked.

"Mhmfff," he mumbled again with a short nod of his head.

"I'll take that as a yes?"

"Mmm-" Swallow. "Yes."

I giggled at the chocolate crumbs that covered his face. "Uh, you got a little something…all over."

Adam reached back into his bag and pulled out a napkin, his cheeks glowing pink as he examined it. He noticed my confused look and handed the napkin over to me. 'Evan', it read, followed by a phone number. I assumed Evan was the barista who had smiled at Adam.

"I'm not gay," Adam finally said, still a little embarrassed.

I pinched his already-pink cheek and grabbed his arm, pulling him along with me in the same way he had done to me minutes earlier.

"Let's go get a prezzie, little Adam," I cooed at him playfully.

"Of course, m'lady!"

We walked a couple of blocks until we reached a street with several different shops. The third place we went to was a clothing store called Anabella's. Strings of mirrored beads covered the walls and bright dresses of pink and yellow were displayed on mannequins in the front of the store. I could tell it was a somewhere Grace would shop at.

Adam was mildly disinterested as I looked over racks of tops, but still managed to make the trip entertaining for himself. In every store we stopped in, he made a game of finding the ugliest outfit he could find and making me try it on.

This time he managed to find a white fur vest, black and yellow striped turtle neck, and an olive green, fringe maxi skirt.

"Adam, where do you even find stuff this bad in a store this cute?" I laughed, spinning around so he could see the entire outfit.

"I have my ways. Let me take a picture of you in that, oh my god."

He pulled out his phone and took a picture of me posing up against the wall in the most ridiculous way I could manage. I changed back into my regular clothes and ended up buying Grace two scarves and a cream and navy colored dress. As soon as we walked out of Anabella's, Adam dragged me into the bookstore that was next door. And I wasn't complaining. I love bookstores—the quietness, the smell, the general feeling of being surrounded by books. Each one a unique story, transporting the reader into a whole new world.

I wandered down the aisles, having lost Adam to a stack of clearance novels. A book caught my attention—four familiar faces half-smiling at me on the cover. The title read _Unsaid Things…Our Story_. I hadn't realized that McFly had an autobiography published. And I couldn't help but wonder if Tom had mentioned anything about our relationship. Had it affected him like it had affected me? Once we broke up, everything moved so slowly. I would go to school, go home, do homework, sleep, and repeat. My friends all wondered what was wrong with me, but it wasn't something I could tell. So I kept all my emotions bottled up inside of me with no one to share them with.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Adam found me, a small stack of books cradled in his arms as if he was holding a newborn baby.

"McFly?" he questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah…Gracie is a big fan. I'm going to get this for her." That was a lie; I was getting it for myself. More likely than not, Grace had a copy of this somewhere in her room.

We purchased our books and went back to my place. Adam distracted Grace while I hid her presents under my bed. I was eager to read the book, but I had to wait for Adam to leave first, and I wasn't rude enough to tell him to go. Besides, I liked his company.

Adam and I were sitting cross-legged on my fluffy, purple bed as he told me a story about Alice being hit on by an old, drunk Irishman at a pub.

"…so, basically, after calling her every endearing name possible, he decided his best chance to get with her was to dump half of his beer on her skirt and try to dry it for her with his napkin. Then, Ed and I figured it was a good time to intervene. But it was seriously the funniest thing I've ever seen."

"Poor Alice!" I managed to say in between my laughter.

"Speaking of her, we need to all hang out sometime! She loved you when she met you!"

"Up until the point where I got absolutely drunk and ditched you guys!" I still felt awful about that.

"Charlotte, I promise you, it's fine. You were clearly upset about something."

I nodded my head, surprised that he had even noticed that.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Maybe some other time," I said. How do you explain a situation like that to someone you've only known for a week. Even if it had felt longer than that.

"Okay," he smiled at me. "Do you know what time it is?"

I glanced at my phone. "7:30."

"Shoot, I have to go. I told a friend that I'd meet him for dinner at 7:45."

Adam gave me a quick hug goodbye and practically ran out the door. "Bye Char!" he called over his shoulder.

"Bye Adam!" I called back to him.

I didn't hesitate to pull _Unsaid Things_ out from under my bed the second he was out of the door. I read the entire thing for 6 hours straight. I laughed and cried through the book. I had already known most of the stuff about Dougie's past, but reading about Danny's family surprised me. We had never seen eye-to-eye, but I couldn't help but feel more respect towards him than I ever had before. I was in shock when I read about Dougie's suicide attempt. I wanted to go over to his house and give him the biggest hug in the world, but I kept reading.

I already knew Tom was bipolar; that didn't surprise me. But what I read next did.

"_I was in a relationship with someone I cared a lot about during this time. But for various reasons, we broke up. I stopped taking my pills and depression took over again. It was months before Dougie, Danny, and Harry realized that I had stopped taking them. Things were bad, but with the help of my bandmates, I got better. Life was easier."_

I couldn't take it anymore. I dug my phone out of my pockets and clicked on Tom's name, not caring if it was nearly two in the morning. He answered after the third ring.

"Hello?" His voice sounded a little scratchier than usual. I wondered if I had woken him up.

"Hi, it's Charlotte," I said in a small voice.

"Oh, hey!" Tom said, surprised.

"Who are you talking to?" I recognized Nicole's whiny voice in the background.

"Just a second," he said. I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or his girlfriend. A minute later his voice came back on the line. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." I paused. "So, I read _Unsaid Things_."

"Really?

"Yeah." I didn't need to say anything else. He understood everything. "That's not why I called though. Do you still want to go get coffee?"

"Right now?"

I laughed. "No, I meant some other time. Maybe in the afternoon if you're not busy."

"Of course, I'd love to. I'll text you after my interview, okay?"

"Okay."

"Goodnight, Charlotte."

"G'night, Tom."


	6. Chapter 6

You know how sometimes you get so anxious for something that it's impossible to fall asleep? You lie in your bed for hours with butterflies in your stomach, imagining different scenarios in your head. And before you know it, it's 4 in the morning, and you hate yourself for not falling asleep.

Yep, that was me right now. Of course the wailing of Grace's baby, Henry, wasn't making sleep an easier. My dear cousin appeared to be sleeping right through her child's crying, so I reluctantly got up to see what was wrong. Don't get me wrong, babies can be adorable and lovely and all, but at 4 in the morning…not so much. Henry was a cutie though, and, after picking up his favorite stuffed monkey, which had fallen out of his crib, he finally became silent. I was finally able to fall asleep shortly after.

Tom texted me at exactly 1:30, '_Can I pick you up at 2? :)'_

'_Works for me :)'_, I replied, pressing the blue send button.

Luckily for me, I had gotten up early—at least in my opinion—at 12 and had time to shower, eat, and do my hair already. I just needed to pick out something to wear. I settled on a pair of mint-colored skinny jeans and a grey knit sweater, which I matched with a gold heart necklace. I nervously paced around my room while I waited for Tom to pick me up. I loved my room; the walls were a warm shade of grey, which contrasted the bright white trim and furniture. The wall behind my bed was covered in old vinyl records, but I only ever took the Beatles records off to listen to. The Beatles are only, like, the best band in the history of forever. And I could go on and on about how perfect Paul McCartney is. But that subject left my mind when Tom texted to tell me he was outside.

I sprayed myself with a little bit of perfume and fluffed my hair on my way out the door. I could see Tom's outline against the tinted windows of his car.

"Hey Char!" he greeted me when I got in.

"Hey, how have you been?"

"Good! I've been busy though; we're recording a new album right now. What about you?"

"Pretty much the same as you! Except I'm studying instead of doing something cool like recording an album."

Tom smiled at me. "But after Uni, you're gonna be able to do what you love! So it'll be worth it."

"I hope so. So, where exactly are we going?" I asked. We had already driven past two coffee shops.

"I know a place that's right by a park, so I figured we could get our drinks and go for a walk, if you want…" he trailed off, as if he wasn't sure that I would agree. What was I going to do, make him turn the car around and take me back?

"Sounds good to me!"

After a ten minute drive, Tom parked his car in a parking lot next to a small red brick building. I opened the car door to a surprisingly warm ray of sunshine hitting my face. Tom had a small frown on his face when he walked to my side of the car.

"You okay?"

"I was going to open the car door for you!" His frown broke into a grin. "So much for being a gentleman."

I laughed and shook my head. "C'mon, let's go get coffee!"

After we ordered our drinks, Tom led me out of a different door than the one we entered. This one led to a path running alongside a small creek. Fallen red and yellow leaves scattered the ground and the sound of birds chirping was heard off in the distance. The picturesque scene was slightly ruined by the sound of rushing cars from a nearby road, but I tried to ignore that.

"Pretty," I murmured.

"I knew you'd like it."

We walked down the path in silence for a minute. Tom's hand accidently brushed mine, and I resisted the urge to grab onto it. Old habits die hard, I guess.

"Charlotte?" Tom asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"What made you change your mind about meeting me? I mean, you said it was a bad idea before. And it probably is but–"

"I missed you," I replied simply. "It's been a while since we talked."

"I know. I missed you too."

"How has the celebrity life been treating you these past couple of years?" I asked in an attempt to lighten the conversation a bit.

"Good. I mean, we have a lot more competition now, but our fans are still super dedicated and amazing. I can't wait for our new album to be finished–it actually sounds like classic McFly, y'know?"

"I'm proud of you guys, it's really great that–"

Splat!

"Seriously? _Seriously_?!" Tom cried out. A bird had pooped on his shoulder, much to my amusement. Hey, it wasn't like the bird had pooped on me! Tom glared at me. "It's not funny."

"It actually is," I said after a fit of laughter. "Come here, I have a napkin in my bag."

"Wait, I want to tweet this first. Will you take a picture?" Tom handed me his phone, and I snapped a picture of his stained shirt.

** tommcfly: Good luck for me! **** 914gRosFxg**

I pulled a crumpled, brown napkin from my bag and did my best to clean up his shirt, but it was impossible to get the stain completely out. Tom thanked me, and we walked a little further until we found a bench underneath a shady oak tree.

"How have you been?" Tom asked suddenly, his brown eyes staring into my blue ones.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

I could lie, and say I've been fine. Tom seemed fine; why couldn't I be? But so much had happened, and my relationship with Tom wasn't the only thing I had lost. "Not so good," I told him truthfully. "I haven't talked to my dad since three weeks after we broke up."

"Seriously? Why? You two were always so close."

"We were. Turns out he was cheating on my mom. I still haven't forgiven him, even though he tries to contact me a few times a month."

"Charlotte, I'm so sorry," he wrapped his arms around me and I buried my head in his neck. I didn't want to get emotional about it. This was one of those situations that I pushed to the side, rather than dealing with.

"S'okay."

"You're not okay though." His hot breath hit my neck, sending a small shiver down my spine. I pulled away.

"I almost called you that night," I admitted. "I deleted your number instead. We had already made it three weeks…"

I stopped. I regretted opening up to him. I had said too much already, and I could see various emotions flashing behind his eyes. Confusion. Longing. Happiness? I turned away and looked out over the horizon. The sun was beginning to fall behind the trees, and shadows were becoming longer and more prominent. Tom still hadn't said anything.

"Can you take me home? I was right. This was a bad idea."

"I don't think it was. But I'll take you home if that's where you want to go."

I nodded and we walked back to the car in silence. The car ride home was silent too. And when we parked, we both remained silent still.

"I'm gonna go," I finally told him.

"Wait, Dougie wanted me to give you his number. He's not the only one who's missed you." Tom smiled softly.

I entered Dougie's number into my phone and said goodbye to the blonde sitting in the seat next to me. I really couldn't stay away, could I?


	7. Chapter 7

"CHARLOTTE!" Dougie screamed into the phone.

"Hey, Dougster," I replied with a giggle.

"I'm glad Tom finally gave you my number. I miss you! You should come over now, and we can catch up in person!"

"Seriously?" I only needed to think about it for half a second. "I'd love to!"

"Do you remember where I live?"

"Uhh, no. Text it to me, and I can come over in like 30 minutes, if that works?"

Dougie made a squealing noise on the other end, making me giggle again. He didn't bother to say goodbye; he just hung up mid-squeal. Forever a strange man.

I brushed through my hair once, and made my way to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee to go.

"Are you going out with Adam again?" Grace asked, cradling Henry in her arms.

"Yeah," I lied. "Want me to pick up dinner on the way home?"

"You two are getting awfully close. Are you _sure _you're not dating?"

"Yes! We're only friends."

"If you say so…" she said, doubting me.

"You never answered my question about dinner," I said as I slipped a red beanie on my head. I wasn't entirely sure if I pulled off the whole beanie look, but I liked to wear them anyway.

"Chinese sounds good. But don't stay out too late, please. I'm going to go to bed a little earlier than usual; I'm completely knackered."

"I literally have no idea what knackered means." _Stupid British slang, _I thought. Despite having dated a British guy _and _having British family, their extensive slang confused me to no end.

"It means I'm tired. Now go before Adam gets too lonely."

I shook my head at her and gave Henry a kiss on his head before leaving. Dougie came and met me outside when I arrived. He lives in the same complex as Danny, so we tried our best to be quiet until we were standing inside of Dougie's living room. Definitely didn't want to risk any awkward run-ins with him.

We both plopped down on the sofa cross-legged and giggled when we realized we had nothing to do.

"I've missed you a lot, Doug."

"Same with me," Dougie wrapped his arm around me, and I cuddled up slightly against him. "How jealous do you think Tom would be if he saw us right now?"

"Uh…not at all? He has a girlfriend." Why would Dougie even ask me that?

"He still loves you, even if he won't admit it to himself."

I lifted my head off of Dougie's chest and looked at his face to make sure he was being serious. I couldn't bring myself to believe it, and I didn't want to anyway. I know what Grace would say if she knew what was going on. She'd tell me it was destiny. I could picture her saying something about how we managed to meet again after all that time. But I don't believe in destiny or fate or whatever you want to call it. Tom and I meeting again was just a coincidence.

"Let's just watch a movie or something…I don't really feel like talking about this," I admitted.

"Okay!"

He picked me up bridal style, despite my protests, and brought me to his rack of DVDs. _The Goonies _immediately caught my attention. I picked it off of the shelf, and Dougie frowned slightly. He had already been holding _Titanic._

"I guess…" he muttered. I gave him my best puppy eyes until he laughed. "Fine."

"Yes!" I cheered and ran back to the sofa.

We were close to the end—the Goonies were searching the pirate ship—when Dougie's front door slammed open. We both screamed at the top of our lungs. Danny stood in Dougie's doorframe looking horrified.

Our screams turned into laughter, while Danny grew more and more confused.

"Charlotte?" he asked.

"Danny?" I replied, ever-so-bitterly. It was a natural thing for me not to like Danny—it was a mutual feeling. Although that didn't stop me from feeling a little bad about it.

"Why are youhere?"

"I invited her," Dougie stepped in. He always tried to keep us peaceful.

"Er, alright. Anyway, Georgia and I were wondering if you wanted to have dinner with us. Charlotte, I guess you can come too if you want…"

Dinner with Danny and his girlfriend? That sounded painful. I was about to decline when Dougie told Danny that we would both love to.

"Well, actually…" I began, but Dougie shot me a look. "Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks."

An hour later, we were sitting around a table in Danny and Georgia's flat eating barbeque chicken. Georgia was amazingly friendly and open, while Danny occasionally gave me strange looks. However, the whole experience wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Plus, I had Dougie, who was able to fill any would-be awkward silences.

After dinner, I offered to help Georgia with the dishes.

"So, you're Tom's ex-girlfriend?" she asked. I could tell she already knew the answer to that question.

"Yep," I confirmed.

"Sorry if that was intrusive. I'm just trying to figure out the whole situation."

"I can't imagine you've heard great things. Danny doesn't exactly like me," I admitted.

She gave me a sympathetic smile, but didn't deny it. "He likes you better than Nicole, for sure," Georgia scowled. "Ugh, Nicole. She gives models a bad name."

There was a few seconds of silence before I heard someone say quietly, "I don't hate you, you know."

Georgia and I both turned around to see Danny standing in the kitchen. I'm not sure how long he was there, but he must have heard some of our conversation.

"Can we talk?" He asked me. I was still a little speechless, so I just nodded. He gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek, and she excused herself.

Danny sat down at the kitchen table, offering me the seat across from him. I sat down somewhat nervously. He took a deep breath and began.

"I know when you and Tom first started dating, I didn't like you very much. There was that age difference, and if the public found out that he was in a relationship with an eighteen-year-old…well, it would not have been good. I know that you both knew that, but it just didn't seem right to me. I couldn't understand how he could love someone that he rarely ever got to see in person. Do you sort of understand my perspective?"

I nodded again.

"Alright. Well, then you tried to do the right thing by breaking up with him, and he was absolutely heartbroken. I've never seen anyone that upset about anything in their life. I finally realized how much you two loved each other—like really, actually loved each other. I'm sorry about how I used to treat you, Charlotte. I really am."

Danny Jones was…apologizing to me? "I don't get it, Danny. If you don't hate me, why do you still act like you do?"

"I've just been worrying about Tom. Suddenly, you're back in his life, and I wasn't sure how it would affect him. Especially with _Nicole_ in the picture…" his nose wrinkled at her name.

"Okay, so I'm not the only one who doesn't like her? I thought I was just being jealous or something."

"No, it's not just you. None of us like her. But she's helping Tom move on, and he's happy with her."

"Good, I'm happy for him," I said honestly. I was actually happy that he was moving on; I just wish it was with someone else.

"Charlotte? Do you want to go back and watch another movie?" Dougie walked into the kitchen and asked. He was looking curiously between the two of us.

"Sure!" I turned to Danny. "I'm really glad we talked."

"Me too," he said. And suddenly, Danny and I were hugging for the first time.


	8. Chapter 8

What the hell was I doing? There was seriously something wrong with me. I could claim that I had enough willpower to resist spending time with Tom, but that would be a downright lie. Because he was sitting approximately two feet away from me in his car―windows down, music blaring―to some unknown destination that lay at the end of the road.

Two hours earlier, I was sitting on the couch in my flat flipping through countless channels on the television. Grace was taking Henry to her parents for the weekend, and I was enjoying some well-needed time to myself.

Three quick knocks on the front door meant that I had to get off the couch—much to my reluctance. My feet got tangled in my blanket as I stumbled to the door, grumbling under my breath.

Tom was standing out in the hall, looking disheveled and out of breath. His hair stuck up at weird places, and he must have picked out his outfit in under 10 seconds, grabbing the first items he saw.

"Come with me," he breathed, before I had a chance to say anything.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"Please," he pleaded. "For the weekend. We can drive somewhere, anywhere."

"What about Nicole?"

He acted as if he hadn't heard me. I was worried, he looked like he was about the break down. "Charlotte, please?"

"Uh yeah, sure. Sure."

He followed me into my bedroom as I pulled a duffle bag out from under my bed and began shoving random clothes into it. After I grabbed my things from the bathroom, Tom pulled my bag across his shoulder and started to walk out.

"I'm official crazy," I muttered as I followed him.

Still a little overwhelmed with the whole situation, and with nothing better to do, I took up drumming along to the radio with my fingers against the dashboard. I was getting into an intense drum solo when Tom placed his hand over mind and intertwined our fingers together.

"Hey, you interrupted me," I complained with a smile.

"Sorry!"

"No you're not!"

He turned to me and laughed, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. This was so wrong. I wanted to ask him what had prompted this random trip, but I was too scared to bring it up just yet. He looked a lot happier than he was when he showed up at my door, and I didn't want to bring him back into that mood just yet.

"I'm hungry." Tom stated after a long period of silence.

"Same," I agreed. "Did you bring any snacks?"

"Nope. Shall we stop somewhere for food?"

"Is that even a question? Of course!" I told him. God, I love food.

We stopped at a restaurant located just off the road. It looked ancient with old-style décor you would find in my grandma's house. The food, however, was delicious, and I probably could have spent the rest of the day sitting in the cracked, vinyl booth, ordering piles of food.

"Are you ready to leave?" Tom asked as I finished the last fry—or chip as they say here in England—on my plate.

I said I was, and we went up to the front counter to pay. I fished around in my bag to find my money, but Tom paid the lady before I even had the chance.

"I could've paid for my own meal," I told him. Just because he was all famous and rich and stuff, didn't mean he had to buy things for me. That always bothered me a little when we used to date.

"I know," he said with a soft smile. "But I dragged you all the way out here with me. The least I could do was buy you food."

"You have a point!" I laughed.

"You two make a lovely couple," the woman behind the counter told us as she handed Tom the receipt.

"Oh, we're―"

"Thank you!" Tom butted in before I could finish.

I don't understand Tom in the slightest. First, he drags me on some spontaneous adventure like I'm Bilbo fucking Baggins, and then he doesn't find it in his power to deny that we're dating. All when he has a girlfriend. I had nearly forgotten about Nicole. I should have stopped right there and told Tom that we were being irresponsible and reckless, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I pushed my worries to the back of my mind, not even protesting when he grabbed my hand again and led me back to the car.

"Where are we?" I asked Tom after we had been driving for a while longer.

"No idea. Check the map on your phone."

I had completely forgotten that I even owned a phone. But it proved to be rather useless when I realized the battery had long died. And I had forgotten to bring a phone charger.

"Tom, do you have an phone charger with you?"

"No, sorry."

"How were you planning on charging your phone?"

"I didn't bring my phone," he said simply. He kept his eyes fixed on the road even though there were no other cars around.

"You didn't bring your phone?!" I was beginning to panic. "I completely forgot to tell Grace I was leaving!"

"Charlotte, relax. You can call her once we find somewhere to stay."

I took a deep breath and tried my best to relax. It wasn't actually that hard with Tom next to me. His presence was always comforting. I rested my head against the cool window and napped until Tom woke me up.

"We're here!" I heard him yell into my ear.

"Where's here?" I mumbled, refusing to open my eyes. I really love sleeping.

"Come on, love," I felt him tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.

I reluctantly got out of the car and grabbed my bag from the back. We were parked outside of a cozy-looking B&B, and somewhere in the distance, I could hear waves crashing against the shore. It was too dark to tell where they were. Tom led the way to the front desk and asked the lady for a room with two beds.

"Sorry sir, those rooms are all occupied."

_Of course. _We ended up booking a room for the two of us to share. I left Grace a voicemail the second we were in our room. I told her that Adam invited me to his parent's house for the weekend. Lying to her made me feel guilty, but it was necessary. I decided to shower afterwards, hoping when I was out, Tom would tell me what was going on. But, naturally, he was fast asleep under the duvet. Guess I was going to have to wait until the morning.


	9. Chapter 9

"Tom, wake up." I nudged the sleeping boy next to me repeatedly until he began to stir. The sun was shining through the window and my stomach was growling.

"What time is it?" his voice was still groggy from sleeping.

"Time for food and coffee. _Get up_."

Thankfully, he crawled out of bed quickly and changed into a pair of jeans and a grey hoodie. He followed me out of the room and down the staircase that led to the dining area.

"How did you sleep?" Tom asked me.

"Good, surprisingly."

His eyebrows rose. "Surprisingly?"

"Well, I'm in the middle of nowhere with my ex for some unknown reason with basically no contact with the outside world."

He pursed his lips for a moment but let out a small chuckle. "That's understandable. C'mon, let's eat."

I made the decision while we had our breakfast to be smart about this situation. The facts were that Tom was dating another girl, and we were just here as friends. Which meant I was going to keep some distance—no more holding hands or anything like that. It wasn't worth messing everything up between the two of us or between him and Nicole.

"Want to go explore?" I asked after we scraped our plates clean. We were lucky they were still serving breakfast when we came down—it was nearly noon.

"Sure, let's go!"

As we walked out of the B&B, I could feel Tom's warmth radiated onto my skin as he stood a little too close for my liking. I don't think it was intentional, but the space between us constantly remained small even when I tried to keep my distance. Like some stupid force kept pulling us together.

It turned out that the source of the waves I heard last night was only a three-minute walk away. It was too cold to do anything other than walk along the beach and dream of the warmth that summer brought, but we still enjoyed ourselves. At least until it began to pour. I usually like the rain—especially back home in June or July when it is warm enough for it to feel good. But late autumn in England meant cold rain, and we ended up running back to our room to avoid freezing to death, laughing the entire way back.

The small television on the dresser was playing some old show that I'd never heard of before, but I spent more time staring at the wallpaper behind the set. Tom left the room forty minutes ago claiming he would "be right back." Clearly, he didn't understand the meaning of what he had said, or he would be sitting right next to me watching this stupid show. Nope, I wasn't worried in the slightest.

I was ready to go search for him when the door opened. Tom stood in the doorway with a brown paper bag in one hand and his guitar case in the other.

"Where the hell were you?" I asked, feeling both relieved and a little irritated.

"Sorry, I went to the store."

"I would've gone with you, you know."

"Don't be mad at me," he frowned slightly. "I have food."

"I suppose I could forgive you…depending on what you got," I smirked at him.

"Sandwiches and peanut M&Ms," he held them out to me like a peace offering, which I gladly accepted. Tom set the bag and his guitar down next to the door and sat on top of the bed with me to eat.

"I also got a bottle of champagne," he confessed sheepishly after we were done with our food. "We can celebrate friendship or something."

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Tom grabbed the bottle out of the bag and popped the top off. There were no glasses, so we resorted to drinking straight from the bottle like the classy people we are. With more than a third of the bottle gone, Tom got his guitar out and onto the bed with us.

"I wrote a song about you the other week, and I wasn't going to share it with anyone, but we're both here with this guitar, and it seems appropriate."

…_I can't escape this danger_

_It feels like I'm in danger_

_When I look at you_

_This broken heart won't last forever_

_I guess times a healer so they say_

_Now I've past through that stormy weather_

_And I ain't going back that way_

_And I've been all around the world_

_Falling down that rabbit hole_

_Should I stay and make the same mistakes_

_Or should I try and get away from this danger…_

My mind felt confused and not just because of the alcohol. If he knew this was so dangerous, why did he bring me here? I took long drink from the bottle while he finished the song. He was right—there were two paths we could take. Option one, do the responsible thing and stay away from each other. I could go downstairs and try to book another room to create some distance between us. Or, option two, I could give in to my stupid desire to be with him right now. Remember what I said about my drunken decision-making skills?

I made the first move of leaning into him and placing a small kiss on his lips, but he didn't hesitate to respond. His hands were firm on my waist, while I ran my own through his blonde hair. We were both needy and desperate; the cliché fireworks were even stronger than they were the last time we kissed. But it wasn't enough, and my hands acted quicker than my mind could. His shirt was off, and my fingers were working to unbutton his jeans. Moments later we were both in nothing but our underwear—our actions growing more sloppy and frantic.

"God, I've missed you so much Charlotte," his voice was low and rough in my ear. "Why did I ever let you go?"

"I've missed you too. A lot." It came out more slurred than I intended.

Tom led a trail of kisses down my body before removing the only thing keeping us from a stupid decision. How could it be a mistake when it felt so right? _Right?_


End file.
